


Better Past

by Kayim



Category: Primeval
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-26
Updated: 2012-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-31 18:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/347324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayim/pseuds/Kayim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt's hunting for food or an anomaly.  What he finds is completely unexpected.</p><p>Spoilers for season 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Past

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Reggie for the pom-poms and prompt!

It's Matt's turn to go hunting. 

The truth is that it's almost always Matt's turn, but that's the way he prefers it. Too many of the group are elderly or already injured or too young. There's only a few of them that should even be setting foot outside the shelter, and as long as it's him going out, it means no one else has to.

Gideon glances over at him from the patch of ground they've claimed as their own, his face pale. Matt doesn't think his father can possibly survive another move, not with the amount of dust that's settled on his lungs, but he also knows that they can't stay here much longer. There've been too many predators scratching at the entrance recently.

He nods to Gideon and climbs up the rickety ladder to the heavy metal door that covers the entrance. The first moment is always the worst – never knowing what’s going to be on the other side – but he takes a deep breath and pushes it open.

The brightness hurts his eyes, but it's still safer to hunt by day than by night, and he squints against the glare. His eyes dart across the horizon, searching for shadows, wary of any movement, but it seems clear for now. He lowers the door down gently, knocking on it with the butt of his shotgun to let them know he's heading out and says a silent goodbye to Gideon, wondering if this will be the day he comes back to find it's too late.

He's heading east this time. The detector he carries shows faint indications of something from that direction, but he has no way of knowing if it's an anomaly or something more sinister. The ground is hot beneath his feet, even through the thick leather soles of his shoes, and the sun burns down on his skin. There's no sign of a storm, but there is dust in the air regardless. He pulls a scarf over his face, covering his mouth and nose, double-checks both his water supply and his ammunition, and starts walking.

On a rocky outcrop in the distance, he can see swirls of dust moving in the air, but it’s far enough away that he's not too concerned yet. He watches for a few minutes, making sure his initial judgment was sound, and then he turns around and continues walking.

A sound behind him causes him to turn around, slowly to avoid attracting unwanted attention, but there is nothing there. He shakes his head at his own paranoia, remembering the old adage that Gideon taught him: It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you. 

When he turns back, a man is standing in front of him.

Matt raises his shotgun, aiming it at the man's head. "Who are you?" he hisses. There shouldn't be anyone out here, not dressed like that. The man is wearing dark-coloured trousers and a shirt that stands out against the pale landscape, making him an easy target. He's making them both a target and Matt knows that's not the way to stay alive.

The man looks around, ignoring the question before turning his attention back to Matt. "What is this place?" he asks. 

His accent is unusual, similar in its lilt to Matt's own, but with a difference that tells Matt that he's not from around here. He's never heard anything like it before, yet there's a familiarity that confuses him. When he speaks, his voice is clear, as though he's never encountered the dust before. He's got no injuries and looks too healthy to be surviving alone. 

Stepping closer, Matt presses the shotgun to the man's chest. He repeats his question. "Who are you?"

The man glances down at the weapon, as if only just noticing its presence. He stares at Matt for a moment before answering, and when he does, there's an impatience in his voice. "I'm Professor Nick Cutter. Now where the bloody hell am I?"

*

They move quickly, Matt painfully aware of their vulnerability, while Nick offers lie after lie about where he's from. As they crouch together, avoiding a passing storm, Matt realises the truth. A man from the past, from before the disaster that destroyed the world. Nick had come through an anomaly from the 21st Century.

The time that Gideon believes it all began. 

It's not the first time Matt returns to the shelter empty handed, but it's the first time in months that he's brought another living human with him.

Matt brings the man to his father, seeing a shimmer of hope cross the old man's face. "He knows where it is?" Gideon asks, addressing his son rather than the stranger. If they can find the anomaly, there's a chance to change this. It's what Gideon has been planning for decades.

"It was east," Matt says, confident of that much at least. "I'm going back out tomorrow."

Nick interrupts. "We're going back out tomorrow," he corrects, throwing Matt a look that warns him not to argue. 

Matt wants to insist on going alone, as always, but he knows the man is right. It makes more sense, and while he may not trust this stranger with his life, he's still their best hope.

Gideon smiles, but a little of the light fades from his eyes. "You need to try, Matthew. I don't have much time."

"Don't be so melodramatic." Matt tries to joke, but he feels his chest tighten at the thought of losing him. "You'll outlive us all." 

With a chuckle that brings on a coughing fit, Gideon waves them both away. "Go get some sleep. You'll need to set out early in the morning."

There are several spare cots now, wherever they stay, and Matt offers Nick the one closest to his own, telling himself that it's only logical to keep him within sight. 

The lights have been dimmed in an appearance of night, and Matt lies down on his cot. He stretches out and forces some of the kinks from his muscles but he won't sleep, he rarely does. 

He looks over at Nick, watching the man's chest rise and fall. His eyes are closed, but his breathing is too rapid for him to be asleep. He waits in silence until he hears Nick turn towards him. Even in the dim light Matt can see the glistening tears in Nick's eyes.

"How did this happen?" Nick asks, his voice so quiet that Matt has to lean closer. He can hear the pain in the man's voice. "What did we do?"

Matt gives up the pretence of sleep and, as well as he can, explains what they know. He talks about the anomalies and how they believe an artificial one was created. He describes the creatures that walk the earth, smiling when Nick tries to identify what they evolved from. In return, Nick tells him of the ARC, and of Claudia and Jenny, of changing timelines. Matt laughs when Nick talks about Connor and Abby, and feels his loss when he speaks Stephen's name. 

They talk through the night, sharing stories in hushed whispers. 

And in the early hours of the morning, when Nick runs out of words and starts to cry, Matt holds him tightly in his arms and offers promises of a better past.


End file.
